Investment Banking - (F) - Q4

Course Content

Bridging Theory and the Real World

Objective is to offer an inter-disciplinary education that puts corporate finance elements in context with a broad variety of real life situations ranging from Investment Banking to Private Equity to advisory functions to the corporate world. Emphasis will be put on real life problem solving as opposed to textbook approaches.

The course outline follows a logical sequence and the various modules build upon each other. Accordingly, the course will start with topics such as operational and financial modelling which ultimately are a basic requirement for not only understanding and using valuation techniques but also for example to assess value creation in a Leveraged Buyout scenario. Other topics such as, inter alia, private M&A processes, IPO, public M&A and activist shareholders will complement the syllabus.

Enriched with multiple and diverse examples from Jan Caspar Hoffmann’s extensive deal doing over the last more than a quarter of a century, the course will illustrate applied theory in a global and cross-border setting.

In order to achieve maximum practical relevance, select high profile guest speakers covering various disciplines will be invited to contribute to the sessions.

Intended Learning Outcomes and Competencies

The Architecture of the Course — With Private Equity at Its Core

The students will be provided with c. 300 pages of presentations that provide an in-depth coverage of the topics presented / discussed, split by module (see below for more detail). Many of these pages have been used in live deals / situations and hence have a direct practical connect and show real-world relevance.

Important Note: The final exam will cover only topics that have been discussed in class. This note is important as the course may not cover all the modules as outlined in the course syllabus. As the case may be, and depending also on the intensity of class discussions, some modules may only be touched upon cursorily — or left out altogether — and will then consequently not be part of the final exam.

Session 1

•                    The demystification of the (financial & operational) modelling

•                    Valuation – the marriage of science and art

•                    Deep dive on comps

Session 2

•                    Bespoke process architecture as key success factor for optimal private M&A transaction outcomes

•                    Basics, trends and pitfalls on the intersection of the legal world and M&A – the relevance of the SPA

•                    From private masterpiece to public canvas: inside the IPO arena

Guest speaker: tba

Session 3

•                    Generating Alpha – the importance of Private Equity as an asset class

Guest speaker: tba

Session 4

•                    Private Equity buy-and-build strategies – a powerful approach to value generation

•                    The alchemy of liquidity and how secondaries redefine Private Equity

Guest speaker: tba

Session 5

•                    Public M&A – the Königsdisziplin of dealdoing

•                    Quo vadis activism – an American Solution to an American problem?

•                    Wrap-up and exam preparation

Guest speaker: tba

At the Top of Their Game — Our Guest Lecturers

As in previous years, a number of high profile guest speakers have committed to contribute to the classes. As all of these guest speakers are leading practitioners in their respective field, this not only is most relevant but also most interesting. And good fun, too.

This year’s line up is as follows:

tba

Instruction Type

In the Room, Not on the Page

The classes and ultimately the learning effect clearly benefit from interaction and discussion.

As mentioned, depending to a certain degree on the nature of the respective module, the sessions will not be a pure page turning exercise but will focus on the key topics and also include the use of the whiteboard etc. The extensive materials will allow for optimal pre-reading (non-mandatory) and a deep dive post-session, if desired.

How the Grade Is Set — and Lifted

Important Note: The final exam will cover only topics that have been discussed in class. This note is important as the course may not cover all the modules as outlined in the course syllabus. As the case may be, and depending also on the intensity of class discussions, some modules may only be touched upon cursorily — or left out altogether — and will then consequently not be part of the final exam.

The final exam will set the base grade for every student.

Class participation will be plus resulting in a notch upgrade of the exam base grade.

In the past, up to 20% of the class qualified for such upgrade from class participation.

From Understanding to Application

Course target is to enable students to understand – and be able to apply – advanced Corporate Finance topics in a real life setting irrespective of the domain in which it takes place.

Course content will be fully covered in the materials provided. The course format however will not be “flipping pages” and going “bullet by bullet” but will focus on joint development of concepts and will make extensive use of blackboard and flipchart. The course is highly interactive and will usually develop into group discussions.

Form of Examination

Literature

From the Meeting Room to the Classroom - Course Compendium

Pre-reading is not mandatory but may help with orientation. Other pre-reading is not required. 

Post-reading seems sensible.

Upload of presentations will take place shortly before start of course.  

Pre-reading of lecture materials is not required

Complimentary reading: suggested but not required
Rosenbaum, Joshua and Joshua Pearl. Investment Banking: Valuation, Leveraged Buyouts, and Mergers and Acquisitions. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2009 Koller, Tim;
Goedhart, Marc and David Wessels. Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies. 5th Ed. Hoboken, N.J. Wiley, 2010

A Practitioner Where Practice Matters

Jan Caspar Hoffmann is an investmentbanker and lecturer. 

Jan Caspar studied Business Administration and Languages at the University of Cologne and the Business and Economics University of Vienna and received his Vordiplom from the University of Cologne. He then attended ESCP, formerly EAP École des Affaires de Paris, where he spent an academic year each in Oxford, Madrid, Paris and Berlin and graduated with the German Diplom-Kaufmann and the Diplôme Grande École de Gestion.

Jan Caspar started as an investmentbanker at Merrill Lynch early 1999 where he worked in Frankfurt and London before moving to Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity, the primary direct investment platform of Merrill Lynch, in 2007 with responsibility for the activities in Germany as a Senior Principal and Director. He then joined Société Générale mid 2010 as a Managing Director and Head of M&A for German-speaking Europe and was later given additional responsibility as Co-Head of Corporate Finance for German-speaking Europe. Early 2015, Jan Caspar (re)opened the German office for the global independent investmentbank Moelis & Company where he was a Managing Director and Partner and acted as Head of M&A for German-speaking Europe until his departure with effect of 2020.

Over the span of his career as an investmentbanker and investor, Jan Caspar has had the chance to gain exposure to a broad variety of situations, many of which in a cross-border context, with a strong focus on public takeovers, corporate carve outs and Private Equity related transactions. Jan Caspar worked on some of the most high profile transactions of the era with clients in all industries and a variety of backgrounds such as Siemens, Porsche, Adidas, Deutsche Bank, Bosch and numerous Private Equity firms. He also has advised US clients, Asian clients and clients from literally all over Europe on their Germany-related strategies. 

Jan Caspar is Managing Partner of J.C.H. Beratungs- und Beteiligungs GmbH, an M&A advisory boutique predominantly advising founders and owners on their strategic transaction-focussed priorities.  

Jan Caspar lectures widely and holds a lectureship for investmentbanking at WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management where he is a Senior Fellow. Jan Caspar also was an Associate Fellow at Saïd School of Business at the University of Oxford where he continues to lecture on Private Equity, valuation and related topics. Furthermore, he holds lectureships at his alma mater, ESCP Business School in Berlin, and at the University of Frankfurt. In the past, Jan Caspar has also held lectureships at the University of Cologne, EBS in Oestrich-Winkel and CEIBS in Shanghai. 

Jan Caspar, a former multiple time German Judo champion, longtime member of the German Judo national team and fighter in the 1. Bundesliga in Judo, is an avid sportsman and mixed martial arts enthusiast.

He is married and lives in Frankfurt/ Germany. But he also feels at home and at ease no matter where in the world.  

At the Top of Their Game - Our Guest Lecturers 

As in previous years, a number of high profile guest speakers have commited to contribute to the classes. As all of these guest speakers are leading practitioners in their respective field, this not only is most relevant but also most interesting. And good fun, too. 

This years line up is as follows:

tba